On the Broken Road
by tabbyuknowit
Summary: "Ziva, wake up," Tony pleaded. "I'll do anything. Please just wake up."- Ziva David is mysteriously ambushed on her way to the Navy Yard. She arrives late to work, beaten and bloody. While Ziva remains in a coma, the team works feverishly to find her attackers.- A bit Ziva centric.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first multi-chapter story. In fact, this is my second story ever to be posted on fanfic. So…enjoy! Please R&R, if you can. I would really appreciate it! I'll try to update soon!**

**Tabby3**

It was just another ordinary day at the office.

Tony Dinozzo walked to his desk with a big, goofy grin on his face. He looked over to Ziva's desk to find it empty. That was odd; Ziva was hardly ever late.

He turned around to find McGee playing one of his stupid video games.

"Mcghee!" he yelled abruptly. Tim jumped and smashed his thumb against the power button on his computer.

"What? What is it?" Mcghee asked frantically, looking around for some sign of trouble he had missed while absorbed in his game.

"Where's Ziva?" demanded Tony, his voice still too loud for normal conversation. He was enjoying McGee's confusion.

"I don't know, Tony," McGee replied, still looking slightly bewildered. "But I'm sure she's fine. Ziva can take of herself."

At that moment, the elevator beeped. Tony and McGee looked over expectantly, waiting for Ziva to walk out. They got what they expected.

And everything they hadn't.

Ziva stumbled out of the elevator. There was blood on her leg and a bloody cut on her forehead, right above her eyebrow. Blood ran down her face, torso, and arm, which she clutched in her other hand. Her hair was wildly disheveled, her dark curls all over the place. Her tanned Israeli skin was a sickly white pallor.

McGee and Tony stared at her in silent horror.

"Ziva!" Gibbs yelled. He dropped his coffee and ran to Ziva, catching her right before she fell.

Gibbs picked up the half conscious, very injured and brought her to the center of the bullpen. He lay her down and yelled at the two frozen agents.

"Tony, get Ducky! McGee, call 911! _Snap out of it!_"

Tim and Dinozzo shook off the shock and fear and did as they were told.

Gibbs turned back to a much wounded Ziva and assessed her injuries. She had a large cut on her right leg, a cut on her forehead, a bullet wound in her abdomen and her arm, and bruises everywhere. He could easily see the dark purple bruises on her neck. And he could see that she was slipping fast.

He ripped off his coat and pressed it to her stomach.

"Ziva? Ziva, you have to stay with me."

She nodded her head slightly, and he could see her struggle to fight the pain and weakness that threatened to send her to a place Gibbs could not go.

"Talk to me, Ziva," he begged. "Who did this to you?"

"There were-"Her voice trailed off, and Gibbs gripped her face desperately, trying to bring her back. "There were six."

"What did they do?" Gibbs asked her frantically.

"Ganged up on me. I….." Her eyes were starting to close.

"Ziva!" Gibbs yelled.

"I tried. Killed four, two got away. They got me pretty good, Gibbs." She coughed and a sob rose up her throat. She was in a lot of pain.

"Don't know if I'll get through this one, Gibbs," she wheezed.

Gibbs gently pushed the sweaty, matted curls off her forehead.

"Of course you will. Just stay right here, Ziver, with me."

Suddenly Ducky and Tony burst through the elevator doors. Ducky gasped slightly when he saw Ziva, but he quickly went into medical mode. He dropped to his knees beside Ziva and assessed her injuries.

"This cut is deep," Ducky murmured, almost to himself. "Ziva, can you feel you feel your leg?"

A hysterical laugh came out of her then.

"Yeah, Duck, I can feel it."

"That's good; it means it didn't hit a nerve."

"Well I-I'm glad you think so," said Ziva. But her eyes were starting to close, and she didn't know if she could stop them this time.

**Thanks for reading, guys! Please review, if you can. I'd really like to know what you want me to improve on before I put up the next chapter!**

**Tabby3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed my first chapter. It means a lot! You guys rock. Please don't hesitate to tell me anything you have problems with in my story. Please tell me what you think, if you can!**

**Tabby**

An hour later, the whole team sat in the hospital waiting room. Abby Sciuto sat with her face in her hands, McGee's arm slung over her shoulders. Tony paced back and forth, almost angrily. Gibbs stood stock still, staring at nothing at all. Ducky and Jimmy Palmer sat trying to discuss something, anything, but any attempts at conversation quickly proved to be futile.

A doctor came out then. He had a serious look on his face that made everyone more anxious than they already were.

"How is she?" Ducky asked. They all waited in stony silence for the answer.

"She's alive," the doctor replied. The team all let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding. "But she's in critical condition. She was shot twice, in the arm and the stomach. Someone tried to strangle her, unsuccessfully. She's covered in cuts and bruises. And…" he paused, hesitant to say the worst.

"What? What is it?" Tony asked, leaning forward.

"She's in a comatose state."

Abby gasped. McGee hung his head. An aura of sorrow washed over them all.

"Would you like to see her?" the doctor asked softly.

The whole team walked slowly to her room. The kind man stopped outside of a brown wooden door with a small window. The doctor, whose name was Dr. Julio Martinez, explained that only three could go in at a time.

Gibbs, Tony, and Ducky filed into her room.

Ziva lay on a white hospital bed. She had so many needles and wires hooked up to her it made Tony nauseous. She looked so pale. But somehow, she still managed to be beautiful. Her dark curls were spread all around her face. She had one arm over her head, and the other, which was heavily bandaged, was lying across her stomach.

Tony sat down in the chair beside her and buried his face in her hair.

"Zi, wake up," he begged in a whisper. "Please."

Ducky gripped Ziva's limp hand and for once said nothing.

And Gibbs just stared at her.

Twenty-four hours later, Ziva was still in a coma. Tony and Gibbs hadn't slept at all since _it _had happened. Abby and Ducky were at the hospital with Ziva. McGee was passed out behind his desk.

But Gibbs and Dinozzo kept working. They almost obsessively searched for clues as to what happened. They no longer ran on energy; they ran on caffeine and determination.

They scoured through security videos of places she might have gone. They searched the files of people she might have seen. But they found nothing. There was nothing out of the ordinary; nothing to suggest that anyone would want Ziva David dead.

Nothing out of the ordinary, that is, until the tiniest of details stuck out.

Tony was watching the same security tape he had already watched twice. It showed Ziva's car driving down the same street that she drove everyday to work. But only after scrupulously watching it for the third time did Tony see the small misstep of a black clad figure hidden in the darkness of the shadows, following Ziva's car.

Tony jumped in his seat. He stopped the video and stared at the motionless figure with wide eyes.

"What is it, Tony?" Gibbs asked. "Did you find something?"

"Boss, come here. Look." He pulled the image up on the big screens and zoomed in.

"Yeah," Gibbs murmured. "Yeah, good work, Dinozzo. Send it down to Abby; she might be able to enhance it."

"Uh, Boss," said Dinozzo. "Abbs isn't here; she's at the hospital with Ziva."

"Well, get her here, Dinozzo."

"Can do, Boss."

Tony picked up the phone to call Abby, but Gibbs went back to work. He followed the man in black, watched him as he watched Ziva. He pulled up a new angle every time he lost sight of him; angles that he and Tony hadn't even thought of checking out.

Then, about a mile from the navy yard on an empty street, the man pulled out a gun. He shot Ziva's back tire, then fired a round into her car. The man dialed a number and started to walk toward her car, but before he could get there Ziva shot him in the head. He went down, but before she had time to speed away five more men came out of the shadows. She could only take one more out before they reached her. They fired into Ziva's car, opened her door, and dragged her out. She was limp and covered in blood, but she wasn't done fighting.

With shaking hands, Ziva, so subtly they did not know it, pulled out her back up weapon and her knife. She kicked one man hard in the groin, then turned around and stabbed one man in the chest and shot another, somehow managing to do so at the same time. But there was still one man who was not down. He grabbed his own knife and stabbed her leg. She dropped like a stone. The man Ziva had kicked recovered himself and wrapped his hands around her throat, but not long enough to kill her. Then they left her there for dead.

And any normal person would've been.

But Ziva David could never be considered normal.

She dragged herself across the street, back to her car. She pulled herself in and drove away.

Gibbs stopped the video with shaking hands. He would kill them. He would kill them or die trying.

**Thanks for reading! Sorry for the angsty stuff goin' on at the moment. It gets better, really. And I'm sorry for hurting you, Ziva! You know I love you!**

**Tabby**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey ya'll! Sorry for the long week with no chapters. I'm just getting access to the internet today. I'll try to update at least twice a week. That's my goal. Just a heads-up; I'm going to Winter Jam next Saturday, so I might only be able to put up one chapter next week. I'll try to make it up to you guys. ;-) So, this chapter is still pretty angsty, but good things happen! Tell me what you think, guys. **

**Tabby**

Abby Sciuto sprinted into the office. Her pigtails were messy and out of order, her wide green eyes wild and unsure.

"Gibbs?" she yelled when she saw him. "Gibbs, you found something?"

Gibbs embraced her and smoothed back her hair.

"Calm down, Abbs. Yeah, we found something."

"Calm down? How can I calm down when Ziva's at the hospital in a coma and there's no Caf-Pow machine there and oh, Gibbs! I haven't seen you or Tony even close your eyes since Ziva-"

"Shh, Abbs," Gibbs interrupted. "The best way for you to help Ziva now is to help us find who did this to her."

Abby's eyes filled with tears and a deep determination, and she nodded her head.

Gibbs led Abby down to her lab. She visibly relaxed as soon as she stepped into it. She opened up the file Tony had sent her and prepared to watch it.

"No, Abby," Gibbs warned, placing his hand over hers to stop her. "It's really bad."

But Abby was determined.

"Ziva would do this for me."  
So she watched the whole video. She didn't turn away, didn't close her eyes once, even as silent tears ran down her face as she watched her friend being beaten so cruelly.

As soon as it was over, she stopped the video and buried her face in Gibbs chest.

"Kill them, Gibbs. Kill them both. For me. For her."

"I will, Abbs," he promised.

-(this is my little separator of paragraphs thingy that I remember seeing on some other thing)-

Their names were Eli Elborez and Ezekiel Shofar. Those were the two men who had survived their encounter with Ziva David.

Their faces were plastered on the big screens in the bullpen, in Abby's lab, in Vance's office. Their names were spread across the Navy Yard. Ex-mossad, busted for an illegal drug operation by none other than Ziva David. It had been years ago, but apparently, they hadn't forgotten her.

The next three days were filled with hospital visits and lack of sleep for the whole team. A cloud hung over their heads. Ziva had not woken up. Ziva was still in a coma, her assaulters-or what remained them-still very much alive, still wishing for her death. They all wanted them dead. T hey all begged Ziva to wake up.

A very tired Tony Dinozzo dragged himself through the hospital towards Ziva's room. He hadn't slept in four days, not since _it _had happened. He had no intention of sleeping.

Tony opened the door and looked in the room. Ducky was asleep in the chair beside her bed. Abby was fully unconscious on the cot she had taken to sleeping on the past few long nights. He was alone. It was just him and Ziva.

He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. He looked her over. Ziva was so thin now, but still so beautiful. She wasn't as pale as she had been when she stumbled into the office that day, a thousand years ago. Her pretty, tanned Israeli complexion was mostly back. She just looked asleep. He tried to convince himself that she was just asleep.

But Ziva wasn't just asleep.

He ran his finger through Ziva's thick, dark ringlets that was the only thing of her that was as full of life as she had always been. Silent tears ran down Tony's face.

"Ziva, wake up," he pleaded. "I'll do anything. For me. For us. Please just wake up."

He cried harder as he stared at her unwaking, unmoving form.

"Come on, Zi. At least wake up for him. For Gibbs. And for Abby, and Ducky, McGee, Jimmy, all of us. Please, I'm a wreck without you."

He buried his face in her hair and choked out a sob. He was still that way until he felt her stir.

Tony shot straight up. He pushed the hair out of her face and frantically called out to her.

"Ziva? Ziva, are you in there? Can you hear me?"

He shook her lightly, and she moaned quietly. Her hand twitched in his.

"Zi! Come on, wake up!"

**Soooo….what did you think? Please leave me any feedback you have in mind! Have a great rest of the weekend, guys.**

**Tabby**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm an awful person! I'm so sorry, faithful readers. I'm not even gonna bother with excuses. I give you permission to mentally flog me. But anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy! Please let me no people are still reading this.**

**Tabby**

Her eyes fluttered. Her breaths came in shallow gasps. She experimented with more parts of her body, twitching her tingling fingers and toes, until she could sit up. Her breathing turned to full on hyperventilation. But Tony was far from noticing.

"Ziva! Ziva, you're awake." Tears streamed down his face and he wrapped her in his arms.

She struggled to break free of his embrace.

"Where am I? What is this?"  
She started to shake, hard, and only then did Tony notice what was going on with her.

"Zi?" he asked, confused.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Ziva screamed.

Ducky and Abby were rousing now, to the shocking sound of Ziva's voice.

Tony realized that she had not seen his face, was probably terrified, so he pushed down all of his relief and joy to try to calm her.

He put his hands on both sides of her face and tried to soothe her.

"Ziva, Ziva, calm down, it's me, it's Tony. You're at a hospital, Ziva, it's alright, it's alright."

She no longer fought him, and she slowly settled back down onto the bed; her shaking didn't slow. Her big brown eyes were wide and terrified.

"There now, that's it, Zi. It's me, it's Tony, I won't hurt you, it's alright."

"Tony?" she whispered brokenly.

It broke his heart to see her like this. He had never seen the fearless Ziva David in any state of terror, but she looked so broken now.

"Yes, it's Tony," he assured her.

"What happened to me? Why am I in a hospital? What is wrong with me?"

He stroked her face, unable to answer, and a sob rose up her throat.

Abby and Ducky were fully conscious now. They both stared at her in shock.

"Ziva!" Abby yelled. She ran over and threw her arms around her.

"Oh, Ziva!" she exclaimed.

"Oh!" Ziva gasped, and tears poured down her face.

"What? What is it, Ziva?" Abby asked, drawing back now.

"No, no, I am fine," Ziva said. But she winced and the tears didn't slow.

"Are you in pain?" Ducky asked.

"I am alright," she lied.

"Ziva, does it hurt?" Tony asked. He put his hands back on her face. "Please, you can tell me."

Ziva nodded her head, then cringed and grabbed the sides of the bed with her hands.

"Gibbs," she whispered. "Where is Gibbs?"

"I'll bring him here," Tony promised.

The nurse came in then.

"Oh, my!" she gasped. "Honey, you're awake."

Her eyes moved to Ziva's tear streaked and her hands, which were still gripping edges of the bed.

She walked over to her then.

"Oh, you poor dear," she fussed. "You must be in awful pain. I'll get you something for that, honey, it'll go away."

The nurse put morphine into Ziva's system, and then ambled off.

Ziva's eyes were closing now, with the weight of the medication. She gripped one of Tony's hands as she fell back into the bed.

"Would you stay here, Tony?" she asked groggily. "Would you stay here with me?"

"Of course, Zi," he said, using his free hand to brush the hair out of her face. "Always."

Her eyes closed, and her grip on his hand loosened until it finally fell slack, until Ziva really was just asleep.

**Hope you enjoyed! Sorry for the wait. Please R&R!**

**Tabby**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey. Sorry for the wait. I'm awful, I know. I struggle to accept it. Well, I hope you all can forgive me long enough to enjoy this extra long chapter. Enjoy!**

** Tabby**

* * *

"Boss!" Tony yelled as soon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs picked up the phone.

"_What _Dinnozo?!" Gibbs yelled back, rubbing his ear.

"It's Ziva! It's Zi!" Tony exclaimed, his voice still too loud to be considered normal.

As soon as Tony said her name, Gibbs grabbed his coat and his coffee and all but ran to the elevator.

"What is it, Tony? What's wrong with Ziva?"

"She woke up, Boss! Ziva woke up!"

Gibbs stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in shock. But he quickly picked up his face, going faster than before,

"I'll be there in five, Dinnozo."

"But, Boss, the hospital's fifteen away from the-"

"_I'll be there in five._"

"Yeah, Boss. See you in five."

* * *

Sure enough, five minutes later, Gibbs burst through the doors of Ziva's hospital room.

Ziva was lying on the bed, just like the last four days, but there was something different. Her cheeks were tear stained, her eyelashes were wet. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead.

But the atmosphere was different, also. Happier. The cloud was gone. Abby was asleep at the foot of Ziva's bed, a bright smile on her face as she slept. Her arm reached up so far as to be uncomfortable, but her hand, barely reaching, gripped Ziva's. Ducky was asleep in the chair beside Ziva's hospital bed. His face was peaceful in a way he hadn't seen it in what felt like forever.

Tony was also asleep, to Gibb's surprise. He was glad; Tony had slept less these past four days than he had, which was saying something. His head lay on Ziva's stomach, and his hand gripped the hand that Abby wasn't holding.

Gibbs walked over to Tony and shook his shoulder. He roused slowly, blinking a few times and lifting his head, but never letting go of Ziva's hand.

"What happened, Tony? Tell me everything."

"She woke up, Gibbs. Ziva woke up."

"You already told me that, Tony. Why isn't she awake _now_?" Gibbs demanded impatiently.

So Tony told him everything, in detail: Ziva's brief bout of hysteria, her confusion, her pain.

"Then she asked for you, Boss, and I couldn't come and get you because I told her I wouldn't leave. So I called you instead."

Gibbs nodded his head slowly.

"Did she remember?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't think so. I really hope not." Tony winced at the memory of the video, which Gibbs had shown him not long after he had found it.

"Me too, Dinnozo," Gibbs whispered so quietly that Tony could hardly hear him. "Now get Duck and Abby out of here. I want to talk to Ziva alone."

Tony nodded. As soon as they were gone, Gibbs took the place that Tony had previously occupied. He stared at Ziva's face. She was the exact opposite of Kelly in everything she was, but they were so alike in the way he loved her,

"Ziver," Gibbs whispered, brushing back her hair and leaving his hand on her forehead. "Ziva, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered slightly, and she tried to sit up.

"Gibbs?" she whispered groggily.

"Yeah, Ziver, it's me," he assured her.

"What is wrong with me, Gibbs?" she asked. "Why am I in a hospital? Why can I hardly move?"

Gibbs's hand moved from her forehead to her hand, and he held it.

"Are you sure you want to know right now, Ziva? We can wait."

But through the fog of medication came the Ziva Gibbs knew, the much less vulnerable one. Her mouth set in a stubborn line, and her eyes flashed with indignation.

"Are you questioning my ability to handle it, Gibbs?"

"Course not," he replied. "I just think you have enough on your plate without this."

"Well, go ahead," she said, her tenacity making her voice strong. "Tell me."

He sighed, but locked his eyes with hers and squeezed her hand tighter.

"There were six of them. You killed four. You were shot twice, in the arm and stomach, and stabbed in the leg."

She didn't as much as wince.

"And how long have I been out?"

"You've been in a coma for four days now."

Her eyes tightened, but she didn't flinch, didn't overt her stare. She was strong; the fearless Ziva David.

"Okay. How did you find me?"

"The remaining men left you in the street. But you managed to get up and drive to the navy yard. You came in the office then, bloody and beaten, barely conscious."

"Dinnozo said that when you woke up, you were hysterical."

His statement was a question. Ziva sighed and closed her eyes.

"Yes."

There was silence. But Gibbs' silence was questioning, and Ziva's silence was unwilling. But she sighed and gave in quickly.

"I woke to a memory; just a flashback, something trying to be remembered, and blood. There was a lot of blood. And then there was the memory of agony. The memory of pain gave way to the reality of pain, and I woke up. But I awoke to the feeling of a strong man's arms around me, and I panicked."

She looked down, ashamed to show weakness. But Gibbs put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head up. She didn't meet his eyes.

"Ziva," he said. "Ziva, there's no shame in being afraid."

Mike's words rang in Gibbs's mind.

_The best thing you can do is teach your kids not to be afraid._

"There's only shame in letting your fear rule you."

She nodded her head, but she didn't look up. He thought he saw a tear, crystalline and solitary, roll down her cheek. Ziva didn't say a word.

"Ziva, look at me," Gibbs demanded. He glared at her until she did. "I watched the video of what they did to you. There was no cowardice in your reactions, no lack of courage in your determination. You are strong, Ziva. You are brave."

Tears poured down her cheeks now, and Gibbs could see the effort it took for her to hold back her sobs.

He wrapped his arms around her, and the sobs broke loose. He didn't say a word, just ran his fingers through her hair and let her cry. Gibbs wasn't a man of sentiment, but he had had four wives and a daughter; he understood women, and was far more compassionate than people gave him credit for.

He knew that Ziva was ashamed to her pain in front of him, in front of anyone. So he didn't say a single thing, didn't really even give her a reason to acknowledge his presence; he just let the fact that he was there, that he didn't think she was weak, comfort her.

Eventually, weary from the meds, Ziva fell asleep. Her head rested against Gibbs shoulder, her face sad and streaked with tears even in her sleep. So he kept his arms around her and he wiped the tears off her face, and he stayed that way until he, also, fell asleep.

* * *

**So I certainly hope you enjoyed that. I'm really sick of typing at this point. Let me know what you thought!**

** Tabby**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, ya'll! Glad to be back after a long week of no updates. Things are still crazy, aren't they? Btw, thanks to numb3rs mystery, for your ever faithful reviews, and Zivatjl12, for the review that made my day. Also to everyone else who reviews and reads my story! You are loved. Except for, of course, the anonymous "Guest" who reviewed my first chapter…..I will write as much Ziva crap as I want, thank you very much for your concern.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned NCIS, Ziva and Tony would be making out and Delilah would not be paralyzed.**

* * *

McGee practically sprinted past the hospital waiting room, where he was surprised to see Tony, Abby, and Ducky fast asleep. He all but ran down the hallways to Ziva's room.

He couldn't _believe _Tony hadn't called him when Ziva woke up. He couldn't _believe_ that he had found out from the maintenance guy, who only knew Ziva to check out her butt as she walked by.

And he couldn't _believe _she was finally awake.

It had surprised him, when he had seen Tony in the hospital lobby, when Ziva was awake. He had been a mess these past few days, more so than the rest of the team, and he would've thought Tony would want to be with her.

He was at the door now. He opened it quietly, just in case Ziva was asleep.

She wasn't asleep.

She was fully conscious, sitting up, sobbing in Gibbs's arms.

McGee stood in the doorway, gaping at them, frozen in shock. Shock because Ziva never, ever cried, and shock because Gibbs was holding her like McGee had only ever seen Gibbs do for Abby.

Of course, he knew that Gibbs loved Ziva, loved all of them. He knew that Gibbs had treated Ziva differently than any other agent before her. But this proved it, more so than it had already been proven. It was almost sweet, besides the fact that Ziva was in obvious emotional pain.

He walked out of the room quietly, a new peace filling him inside, and went to go join Ducky, Abby, and Tony.

* * *

Gibbs woke up with his arms still around Ziva. He looked at the clock. It was 4:00 a.m., twelve hours since he had fallen asleep. He shook his head slowly; then he got up carefully, trying not to wake Ziva. But of course, she did.

Ziva tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes. She winced and grabbed her stomach where the bullet had hit. The pain was back; the meds had worn off.

Gibbs noticed.

"Ziver, I'm getting the nurse." He pressed the button that sent the nurse in before she could protest. She really was in pain, more so than she let Gibbs see, so she was secretly glad she'd had no time to argue.

She sighed and painstakingly lowered herself back into a lying position.

"Fine," Ziva reluctantly agreed.

* * *

Now that Ziva was, well, not healed, but better, the team worked with a new energy and a less desperate determination. They all got more sleep at night, knowing that Ziva would be okay. That she could wake up in the morning, and was not condemned to a lifetime of sleep.

Ziva fussed and complained about her confinement to the hospital and the bed, which she had grown quite sick of, even though it had only been about a day since she had woken up.

"I don't _need _this," she would complain. "I can take care of myself. I do not need to be watched over like a child."

But she was still in a lot of pain. She could not walk yet, though constantly she tried.

"C'mon, Zi. Give it a rest. Take it slow for a few days," Tony tried to convince her.

"I will not _take it slow, _Tony," she replied, looking exasperated. "If I must stay in this wretched place, I will not be rendered helpless!"

Tony sighed.

Things were not going as quickly as they had hoped. The two remaining men had disappeared without a trace. The bolos McGee had put up were fruitless. Neither man used their cell phone or credit card.

None of the team ever gave up. It seemed as if they had all made a silent pact; one they all agreed to mutely and without question. They would get the men who had hurt their family.

But, that day, they found something.

One of McGee's bolos, which everyone had pretty much given up on, got a hit. Two men were traveling alone, with an eastern look and manner. It wasn't even an exact description; they knew it might not even be them. But it was one of the first leads they had, and the team vowed to follow it with everything they had.

Tony prepared to tell Ziva the news. The hit had come from far away; a small town in, of all places, Oregon. So Tony would have to leave her.

He knew she would be fine. But Tony had been at the hospital a lot since Ziva had woken, and he was not comfortable leaving her. He was afraid Ziva would hurt herself trying too hard to be invincible.

Yes, he was very worried. So much so that the day before Tony, Gibbs, and McGee were scheduled to leave for Oregon-which was the day they found out-Tony confronted Gibbs about it.

Tony walked down the familiar stairway to Gibbs's basement. It smelled like wood and bourbon, what it always smelled like. Tony relaxed at the familiar scent. He looked around, even though he knew it would look the exact same way as it always did.

The big boat Gibbs was still building sat in the middle of the room. Gibbs was bent over it, sanding the wood. It looked like it was almost done.

Tony walked over to the stool Gibbs had in the corner and pulled it closer to where Gibbs was working. He sat and for once said nothing.

Gibbs sighed.

* * *

** That's all for tonight, my lovelies. Sleep well. Please R&R! Much appreciated.**


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